And this afternoon, I met up with Will and Charles at the ballpark to give them a little tour. Charles has been here before, but this was a nice opportunity for Will to be able to take him inside the Clubhouse, on the field, etc.

It was also a great chance for me to show off the rest of the stadium, as Charles hasn’t had the chance to explore every level and Will’s experience has been limited mostly to the Clubhouse, field and bullpen.

And of course, there were the obligatory photo ops along the way…

Will Smith and his dad, Charles, pose in the Media Interview Room at Miller Park.

We started our tour in the Media Interview Room and then progressed into the Clubhouse and out on to the field. It was interesting for them to see the field that’s been “put to bed” for the offseason. I shared with them my experience of helping the Grounds Crew with that process a few years back.

Then, we had to pay a visit to the bullpen:

“This is my office,” Will said to his dad as we entered the bullpen, which has also been tarped for the winter.

As I mentioned, Will has not had a lot of time to explore Miller Park himself (and just got his first taste of tailgating at the end of the season), so it was neat to take both guys around and show off all the stadium has to offer. We hit the U.S. Cellular Power Playground (above), the Harley-Davidson Deck, the Johnson Controls Stadium Club, the Meeting Rooms, and the Suites… we even stopped in my office!

I had told Will that the Brewers Clubhouse Salewas going on today (it wraps up at 7 p.m. CT tonight) and they decided they wanted to check it out.

I was curious to see how many people would recognize Will out of uniform and out of context. We rode down the elevator from the Hot Corner to the Service Level with some fans and walked through the Service Level to the Sale. Along the way, one fan stopped Will and shook his hand.

Inside the sale, the pair checked out all of the merchandise, including Will’s own locker nameplate that was for sale in the Authentics area and Will was only approached by one other savvy fan.

Athletes… they’re just like us. Will Smith shops the Brewers Clubhouse Sale.

It was nice to catch up with Will, who said he is having a low-key offseason, getting in his workouts and playing a lot of golf. This trip back to Milwaukee is the only travel he had planned.

Will and Charles have dinner plans tonight and will do some more exploring tomorrow before taking a shuttle up to Lambeau Field for the Monday night Packers vs. Falcons game, along with Will’s brother-in-law and his father, who are flying in later this weekend to join them.

Gotta start my packin for my trip to Milwaukee and Green Bay this weekend! Gotta see my Dirty Birds and the Pack play!

Being from Georgia, they are all Falcons fans, but they are excited for their first visit to Lambeau.

However, they do have some trepidation about the weather. “When we left Georgia, it was 71 degrees,” Will said. He noted that he brought all his hunting gear, including his boots with heated insoles, so he hopes he is prepared.

Brewers reliever Will Smith has visited Turner Field many times in his 24 years, but this is the first time at the ballpark that he won’t be cheering for the Braves.

Will hails from Newnan, Georgia, a town about 30 miles south of Turner Field, where he grew up as a big fan of the Atlanta Braves and attended Northgate High School where he played on the school’s baseball team.

While Will has faced the Braves twice before in his career, this will be his first time returning to pitch in Atlanta–and he’s got hundreds of family and friends coming out to cheer him on over these next four games, including his former baseball coach, Greg Hamilton; his mom, Kay; and his dad, Charles..

“He was fantastic and had a little something you don’t see all the time–the IT.” Coach Hamilton recalled.

Coach Hamilton also noted that he and Will are still very close.

“He still comes down and does stuff with Northgate all the time time. He’s more than a baseball player. He’s a great guy.”

And, he says, he frequently reminds Will not to let anyone outwork him. “‘Never,’ Will always replies,” he says.

Will Smith poses for a photo with his mom, Kay, at Turner Field.

“Will was a huge Braves fan growing up,” Will’s dad told me. “In fact, we attended a Fan Fest here when he was young and we even have a photo of him throwing in the bullpen.”

Now that’s foreshadowing and proof that dreams do come true if you’re willing to put in the effort and not “let anyone outwork you,” as Will has done and continues to do.

(Of course, I’ve asked Mr. and Mrs. Smith to share those photos with us, if they can track them down–stay tuned!)

5/22/14 UPDATE:

Thanks to Mrs. Smith, here are the photos of a young Will at Turner Field. He was about 11 or 12 at the time:

As a kid, Will took the mound in the Braves bullpen with big league dreams. This week he returned in a Brewers uniform.

A young Will poses next to a statue of “Mighty Casey” at Turner Field. (The statue is no longer there.)

Will Smith catches up with family and friends before the Brewers-Braves game at Turner Field on Monday.

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